IP Library Granted Patent US 12,351,369
Granted Patent B2
US 12,351,369 · App. 17/793,731 · Granted Jul 8, 2025

Inner plug constituting nozzle and eye drop container

Inventors: Yoshitoh Tanaka (Yokohama, JP); Asako Kanazawa (Yokohama, JP); Toyoaki Suzuki (Yokohama, JP)
Assignee: ZACROS Corporation
B65D47/18A61F9/0008A61J1/05B65D53/02
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,351,369
App. No.
17/793,731
Granted
Jul 8, 2025
Kind
B2
Abstract

The eye drop container includes a container body having an inner plug and an opening part in which the inner plug is mounted. The inner plug is mounted in the opening part of the container body, constitutes a nozzle part, and has a liquid-contacting part which is constituted of a layer including a cyclic olefin copolymer, a cushioning part which is provided in an outer circumferential part in contact with the opening part, a flange part which comes into contact with a tip surface of the opening part, and a leg part which comes into contact with an inner surface of the opening part. The cushioning part is provided on at least an outer circumferential surface of the leg part.

Claims (24)

1. An inner plug to be mounted in an opening part of a container body and constituting a nozzle, the inner plug comprising:

a liquid-contacting part having a surface comprising a layer including a cyclic olefin copolymer; and

a cushioning part that is provided in an outer circumferential part in contact with the opening part,

wherein the liquid-contacting part has a leg part which has a cylindrical shape and comes into contact with a cylindrical inner surface of the opening part,

the cushioning part has a cylindrical part provided in an outer circumferential surface of the leg part in contact with the cylindrical inner surface of the opening part,

wherein the liquid-contacting part is configured such that the surface comes into contact with a content of the container body when the inner plug is mounted in the opening part of the container body,

the cushioning part is configured not to contact with the content by being separated by the liquid-contacting part when the inner plug is mounted in the opening part of the container body, and

the cushioning part is constituted of a material of one or more kinds selected from a polyethylene resin, a rubber, and an elastomer.

2. The inner plug according to claim 1 ,

wherein the inner plug has a flange part which comes into contact with a tip surface of the opening part.

3. The inner plug according to claim 2 , wherein the cylindrical part of the cushioning part is formed on an upper outer circumferential surface of the leg part and an annular plate-shaped part is formed on a lower surface of the flange part, and the cylindrical part and the annular plate-shaped part are continuously formed to have an L-shaped cross section.

4. The inner plug according to claim 2 , wherein the cylindrical part of the cushioning part is formed on an upper outer circumferential surface of the leg part and the cushioning part does not have a part formed on a lower surface of the flange part.

5. The inner plug according to claim 1 ,

wherein the outer circumferential part of the inner plug in contact with the opening part of the container body has a part in which the liquid-contacting part directly comes into contact with the inner surface of the opening part on a side closer to a storage part of the container body than a part in contact with the inner surface of the opening part via the cushioning part.

6. The inner plug according to claim 1 ,

wherein the layer including the cyclic olefin copolymer includes at least one of a COP that is a copolymer of cyclic olefins different from each other and a COC that is a copolymer of a cyclic olefin and an acyclic olefin.

7. An eye drop container comprising:

the inner plug according to claim 1 ; and

a container body that has an opening part in which the inner plug is mounted.

8. The eye drop container according to claim 7 ,

wherein the container body has a layer including a cyclic olefin copolymer on at least a surface in contact with a liquid content.

9. The inner plug according to claim 1 , wherein the liquid-contacting part consists of a COP that is a copolymer of cyclic olefins different from each other.

10. The inner plug according to claim 1 , wherein the cushioning part consists of a polyethylene resin, an elastomer, or a combination thereof.

11. The inner plug according to claim 1 , wherein a thickness of the cushioning part is between 50 μm and 1000 μm.

Assignments (2)
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded May 21, 2025
From: FUJIMORI KOGYO CO., LTD.
To: ZACROS CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 071343/0659 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Oct 18, 2022
From: TANAKA, YOSHITOH; KANAZAWA, ASAKO; SUZUKI, TOYOAKI
To: FUJIMORI KOGYO CO., LTD.
Reel/Frame 061456/0149 →
Priority Claims (1)
JP 2020-007831 · Jan 21, 2020 · national
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20230088243A1 · Mar 23, 2023
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